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Kimber Eclipse Custom II

Thors_Mitersaw

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I am considering purchasing a Kimber Eclipse Custom II but have some questions and concerns aimed at the gun and possibly general handgun knowledge as well.

To start with, I have to say one of the major things that is drawing me to this gun is the beauty of the thing. I have seen several up close and behind glass and I have to say its one of the most beautiful 1911s I have ever seen. However the 1911 I currently own is a high standard with a OD green/brown frame and a black slide. Its a fairly rugged finish that doesnt require much of anything to do. Am I going to be pampering this Eclipse Custom II finish?

I do not do competitions. I only have weapons for self defense purposes. I open carry my 1911 (kind of why I want something prettier
tongue.gif
) on a regular basis and like to carry hollow points. However, whenever I attempt to fire hollowpoints through my 1911, as expected, there is sometimes a failure to feed and the bullet will stop on the ramp. Is the Kimber maybe a little better with feeding in hollow points? Perhaps someone knows somewhere to get powrball ammo for cheap? <-- not likely I suspect. ha.

I see that the gun is available in 10mm. Why 10mm? are 10mm rounds expensive? Are they widley available or at places like DICKS sporting goods? What is the recoil like? I currently find .45 to be a round I am fairly comfortable with and like it much better than .40 which I find to be a bucking mule in my hand (I am not a large man). Are the Eclipse models able to fire +P 45?

ok thats enough outta me





EDIT:
I also have been looking at some of these S&W 1911s here :p
 

IanB

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1. Your Kimber will feed hollowpoints (reliably with no failures) if you throw away the Kimber factory magazine and use Wilson Combat 47D's instead.

2. 1911's were designed by JMB to fire .45, stick with that and forget 10MM. If you want to shoot 10MM buy a gun built from the ground up for the 10MM cartridge like the Glock 20.

3. I have fired hundreds of +p rounds through my Kimber. I wouldn't recommend them exclusively but it won't hurt to fire them in self defense or for QC and reliability testing.

4. Any carry gun will get banged up. If you can't stand the thought of your wooden grips gettingmarred or the gun being scratched I would look at something a little less flashy. I carry a simple stainless IImodel with rubber grips for that very reason. My gun isn't a fashion statement, it's a tool of last resort.
 

Weak 9mm

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I wouldn't listen to Mr. Bull Sh*t btw. His baseless bias is beyond extreme.

Anyway, I've never shot any of Kimber's 1911s, but they're beautiful firearms. The Smith and Wesson 1911s look very nice too. Either way I'm sure you'd be happy. But like yoda said, if you're going to open carry it you'll probably scratch it up a little bit. Maybe you should get a used one, then it will have a scratch or two already and you wont have to feel as bad about it when and if it does happen.

The 10mm is a NASTY handgun cartridge. It has a very wide range of bullet weights and overall power to choose from. The .40S&W was developed because so many folks in the govt. couldn't handle the 10mm's power or the required grip size. Federal developed a weak 10mm cartridge and some folks realized that if they were going to weaken it that much, they might as well shorten the case and adapt smaller frames originally for the 9mm to shoot it. Hence the ".40 Short and Weak."

Like yoda said, get a Glock 20 if you want a 10mm chambered firearm. It will handle any 10mm load available just fine and carries 15+1 rounds of it if I'm not mistaken.

PM will be sent very shortly about Pow'RBall ammunition.
 

deepdiver

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Only Kimber I have any experience with is my buddy's Ultra Carry II in .45 and it shoots whatever he loads into it. He had a FTF issue with it at first with HP and had to send it back to Kimber. They did a fluff and buff on it as I recall and it has been ultra reliable since then.

ETA: And he does compete with it putting hundreds of rounds through it weekly.
 

Thors_Mitersaw

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nakedshoplifter wrote:
1. Your Kimber will feed hollowpoints (reliably with no failures) if you throw away the Kimber factory magazine and use Wilson Combat 47D's instead.

2. 1911's were designed by JMB to fire .45, stick with that and forget 10MM. If you want to shoot 10MM buy a gun built from the ground up for the 10MM cartridge like the Glock 20.

3. I have fired hundreds of +p rounds through my Kimber. I wouldn't recommend them exclusively but it won't hurt to fire them in self defense or for QC and reliability testing.

4. Any carry gun will get banged up. If you can't stand the thought of your wooden grips gettingmarred or the gun being scratched I would look at something a little less flashy. I carry a simple stainless IImodel with rubber grips for that very reason. My gun isn't a fashion statement, it's a tool of last resort.

thanks for the reply.

Just for the record, I am not trying to be fashionable or anything (I cannot bare to part with my black hogue grip), but I think there is something to be said about carrying an ugly gun :p
 

Thors_Mitersaw

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Weak 9mm wrote:
I wouldn't listen to Mr. Bull Sh*t btw. His baseless bias is beyond extreme.

Anyway, I've never shot any of Kimber's 1911s, but they're beautiful firearms. The Smith and Wesson 1911s look very nice too. Either way I'm sure you'd be happy. But like yoda said, if you're going to open carry it you'll probably scratch it up a little bit. Maybe you should get a used one, then it will have a scratch or two already and you wont have to feel as bad about it when and if it does happen.

The 10mm is a NASTY handgun cartridge. It has a very wide range of bullet weights and overall power to choose from. The .40S&W was developed because so many folks in the govt. couldn't handle the 10mm's power or the required grip size. Federal developed a weak 10mm cartridge and some folks realized that if they were going to weaken it that much, they might as well shorten the case and adapt smaller frames originally for the 9mm to shoot it. Hence the ".40 Short and Weak."

Like yoda said, get a Glock 20 if you want a 10mm chambered firearm. It will handle any 10mm load available just fine and carries 15+1 rounds of it if I'm not mistaken.

PM will be sent very shortly about Pow'RBall ammunition.
haha, yea. I think I am going to be purchasing a XD in 9mm soon (in addition to my new 1911, whatever I decide) and not a glock. I have held and fired both and I just like the way the XD feels in my hand much better. *shrugs*

thanks for the reply. and thanks for the PM

Do you have an opinion on hi-cap 1911s? Like the para guns and the like? Am I a old fogey or something for insisting on carrying this hudred year old, metal, low-cap, relic? :p
 

deepdiver

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thorsmitersaw wrote:
Am I a old fogey or something for insisting on carrying this hudred year old, metal, low-cap, relic? :p
Given how many people have them and want them I don't think so at all. I plan to buy one for numerous reasons. It is a very well designed weapon that has stood the test of time.
 

apcci2

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thorsmitersaw wrote:
I am considering purchasing a Kimber Eclipse Custom II but have some questions and concerns aimed at the gun and possibly general handgun knowledge as well.

To start with, I have to say one of the major things that is drawing me to this gun is the beauty of the thing. I have seen several up close and behind glass and I have to say its one of the most beautiful 1911s I have ever seen. However the 1911 I currently own is a high standard with a OD green/brown frame and a black slide. Its a fairly rugged finish that doesnt require much of anything to do. Am I going to be pampering this Eclipse Custom II finish?

I do not do competitions. I only have weapons for self defense purposes. I open carry my 1911 (kind of why I want something prettier
tongue.gif
) on a regular basis and like to carry hollow points. However, whenever I attempt to fire hollowpoints through my 1911, as expected, there is sometimes a failure to feed and the bullet will stop on the ramp. Is the Kimber maybe a little better with feeding in hollow points? Perhaps someone knows somewhere to get powrball ammo for cheap? <-- not likely I suspect. ha.

I see that the gun is available in 10mm. Why 10mm? are 10mm rounds expensive? Are they widley available or at places like DICKS sporting goods? What is the recoil like? I currently find .45 to be a round I am fairly comfortable with and like it much better than .40 which I find to be a bucking mule in my hand (I am not a large man). Are the Eclipse models able to fire +P 45?

ok thats enough outta me





EDIT:
I also have been looking at some of these S&W 1911s here :p
Just someting for you think about. Kimber makes a good weapon, but over the last few years, as they have gotten more popular, they have began to lean more towards quantity than quality, if you know what I mean. Customer Service is not the best out there.
 

dojpros

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While lookshave a place, the first think when considering a pistol is reliability.

If you are going to carry a weapon, the finish is going to show it. Many consider firearms tools, tools have tool marks.

Most modern 1911s will feed a hollowpoint bullet they like, the magic is figuring out which one that is. All things being equal, a hollow point profile most like FMJ (full metal jacket) will be most reliable. A post purchase reliability job can help as well

A 1911 was designed around a 5 inch all steel platform shooting .45 acp. When you deviate from that original formula, the potential for problems goes up dramatically.



I know that everybody knows somebody who have a 3 inch box stock (fill in the blank) that they paid 300.00 for that runs like a sewing machine. I also know that people who shoot people with a pistol for real who use a 1911 to do it use a 5 inch , all steel 1911 i.e., FBI HRT, FBI SWAT, other tactical teams, many military and quasi military units etc.

I strongly recommend you take a look at a few forums which discuss the 1911 i.e., 1911forum and 10-8, before making a final choice.

Re the Kimber Eclipse Series II

I would not bet my life on a weapon that has a swartz safety system (google it) as they can be timing issues which would prevent the weapon from firing. This is not a universally held belief and there are scads of threads out there with strategies on how to bypass the system on a kimber. I would also take a pass on a 1911 with an external extractor as they do not have the same reliability track record as an internal extractor as reported by several highly respected gunsmiths specializing in 1911s.

If I was going to buy a new to me 1911 in the Eclipse II price range (1000ish):

1. I would by a used Kimber Series I and have enough left over for 1000 rounds of ammo

2. I would buy a new Springfield Loaded and shoot it for a 1000 rounds to see if it needed a fluff and buff from the factory or a local smith who knows what he/she is doing

3 I might stretch and get a new Springfield Operator as it has a light rail



I would buy any 1911 knowing that I might have to figure out which HP it will feed reliably, it may need a break in period and it may need to go back to the factory or to a smith.If this is too much of a hassle and .45 is driving the train I would consider a Glock 21 SF or a Smith and Wesson M & P 45. I do not like the XD as I think it sits too high in my hand, the take lever is where I put my thumb and I do not like that the grip safety has to be fully and I mean fully depressed to run the slide of the weapon. I acknowledge that many like the XD and its fit to hand may be second only to a 1911 or perhaps a hi power.



YmmV
 

deepdiver

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Ergonomics vary greatly person to person.

I very much enjoy my XD45 compact and have had no issue with depressing the backstrap safety to fire or cycle it nor is the take down lever an issue with my thumb. I have yet to shoot a Glock that I like as their backstrap angle is not natural to me (and I really do hate their take down system).

Lots and lots of different guns out there. Some 1911s fit my hand well, some grips or beavertails are uncomfortable or painful in my hand. I was surprised at how good the Walther P99 felt in my hand. Just a few examples of differences for one person let alone across multiple people.

As to +P .45s, just about any modern 1911 style .45 cal pistol will fire +p ammo at least on occasion such as testing out your SD ammo and for a SD situation.
 

Alwayspacking

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Apr 23, 2008
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nakedshoplifter wrote:
2. 1911's were designed by JMB to fire .45, stick with that and forget 10MM. If you want to shoot 10MM buy a gun built from the ground up for the 10MM cartridge like the Glock 20.
I owned a Kimber 10mm and had no problems with it at all, it was the best gun I ever owned. NOT ONE PROBLEM:)
 

unevrno

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Jul 24, 2008
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I went the other way. I have small hands, and, for years, avoided the 1911 platform, because I thought it would be too big. However, once I finally got my hands on one, well! It was like it was built just for me.....of course, I still couldn't handle the ones set up for double-stack mags, they were just too big.

My first .45 was a Firestar, which was great, except the thumb safety liked to chew the base joint of my thumb on recoil. My first 1911 was a beautiful Springfield that used to belong to the Chief of Police in Omaha. Looked great, ran smooth as silk, I loved it and still have it.

Then, at a local gun show, some years ago, I saw my first Kimbers, beautiful tools in stainless. I wound up buying a matching pair, a 5" Stainless Target and a 4" Pro Carry SLE. Loved them both and shot them for several years. Even my daughter and son, who were shorter than me, at 5'9", could handle them. They were fun to shoot, and quite accurate out of the box, but the recoil was pretty hefty, to me.

A couple of years ago, Nebraska finally passed concealed carry, so I thought about what I would want for that. I had used 9's before, and thought they'd be a lot more controllable than a .45 in rapid fire, but I still wanted the 1911 frame.

About that time, I found that Kimber was offering the Aegis II 3" 1911 in 9mm. I bought one, just from the pictures, ordered it through my local dealer, and have never looked back. The only thing I did to it was to have the bobbed hammer replaced with a Commander style hammer. I liked it so much, I bought another, and now have a backup. Personally, I think they're about the most beautiful 1911s I've ever seen, not counting the really fancy engraved and inlaid models.

See if you agree.

twin_aegis_4.jpg


Rock solid, reliable, and damned good looking.

:cool:
 
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